Moorpark High Interact members act locally, globally

By Karen Hibdon
Posted April 19, 2012 at 5:19 p.m
Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/apr/19/moorpark-high-interact-members-act-locally/#ixzz1sbc08wQS - vcstar.com

Members of the Interact Club at Moorpark High School have wasted no time determining what community service is all about — they're just doing it.

The club is co-sponsored by the Rotary Club of Moorpark and Rotary Club of Moorpark Morning. Most of the 38 members are freshmen, sophomores and juniors, giving the fledgling group a base for the future.

Interact's mission is "to help others and to serve people from the community as well as around the world," said Cindi Feig, Moorpark Rotary's New Generations chair and Interact's co-adviser along with Harmony McAuliffe, the morning club's New Generations chair.

Moorpark High Interact is the first time the two Rotary clubs have fully joined together on a project, Feig said.

Interact's charter calls for students to take on two projects a year, one benefiting the community and one international in scope. (Read entire story, PDF...)

Oxnard shelter opens its doors to public this weekend

Daniel Lopez doesn't care that the Ventura County Rescue Mission has been around for 40 years; he's just glad it was there last year when he needed help.

"It saved my life, joining the program" Lopez said. "I was in a hard place. I had my past life, but I was trying to make changes. I was close to going back to a bad place in my life."

Lopez, 56, entered the mission's drug and alcohol recovery program last year after struggling for more than two years to find a job.

Currently working an internship at the mission, Lopez aspires to study at the Channel Islands Bible College and Seminary.

With numerous success stories to its credit, the mission is inviting the public to an open house Saturday to celebrate its 40 years.

The anniversary celebration will allow the public to see the facility and meet those involved in the mission's programs, said John Saltee, mission director.

"We hope to make more people aware of what we do here for as many people as we can so we can continue helping," Saltee said. (Read entire story, PDF...)

Rescue Mission serves 148 Easter meals

By Anne Kallas
Thursday, April 5, 2012

A group of people eating lunch Thursday at the Ventura County Rescue Mission in Oxnard was intent on the food and didn't want to talk. But as their stomachs filled, their stories surfaced. One man, who identified himself as Kevin, explained that he is disabled and his state benefits have ended. He is awaiting a ruling regarding Social Security benefits, but in the meantime, he is homeless.

"Everybody needs a job," Kevin said. "You guys handing out jobs?"

Asked what his plans were for Easter Sunday, another man, who asked to be called Jeff, said, "I'm going out and sleeping under a bush. There is no place for homeless people."

Mission Director John Saltee said being able to provide the 148 meals that were served Thursday brings the Easter message closer to him, his staff and the male residents of the mission's yearlong recovery program.

"We want to treat the less fortunate of society with dignity, as if Jesus himself came to lunch," Saltee said. "We want them to celebrate Easter like people who have money do, with ham sandwiches, veggies and pie."

Mission residents prepared a meal of ham, chili beans, potato salad, bread, salad and apple crisp in the mission's fully equipped kitchen.

After being served their meals, volunteers, including four from the Oxnard ARC Ventura County program, helped those who had come for the free meal carry their plates and drinks to the sunny back patios of the mission.

Suzanne West, volunteer coordinator for the mission, said about 40 percent of the regulars at the mission's twice-daily meals are homeless.

"Others are staying with friends, families and relatives and they come here for a hot meal," she said. (Read entire story, PDF...)

St. Paddy’s Day Fundraiser Supports County Rescue Mission

By Cate Brown, Special to the Acorn
Published March 9, 2012

On March 17, it doesn’t matter who you are, according to Camarillo resident Thomas Colbert, because on St. Patrick’s Day, “everybody’s just a little bit Irish.”

Colbert enjoys sharing the holiday festivities with others, and for 30 years he’s opened his home and hosted a St. Patrick’s Day party that attracts hundreds to celebrate Ireland’s patron saint.

But this year Colbert will host his St. Paddy’s bash at the Tower Club of Oxnard on March 17, not only to share some of the luck of the Irish but to raise money for the Ventura County Rescue Mission, an Oxnardbased charity that helps the area’s homeless.

Colbert said the idea of using the annual party as a charity fundraiser was sparked by his family’s work with the homeless.

As monthly volunteers at the Ventura County Rescue Mission with their children, Jessy and Timmy, Colbert and his wife, Dawna, a professional party planner, realized that the shelter needs more than just donations of food. It is also in need of upgrades to its cooking equipment and kitchen.

“We saw the need, and we knew that with the help of our friends, this year’s party could be a fundraiser as well as a ‘funraiser’ to help meet the needs of those less fortunate,” said Colbert, a media executive who brought national attention to the true-life story told in the motion picture “The Vow.”

The evening event, which is also a members’ mixer, includes a Mexican buffet, a magic and comedy show, a professional comedian, a performance by Irish dancers, a blindfolded martini tasting contest and dancing.

For tickets and more information, call Dawna Colbert at ( 800) 887- 8975 or go to www.tifhe.com. Admission is $15 for children and $60 for adults. The party begins at 5 p.m. and ends at midnight.

The Raw Deal - Sleeping in cars

By Karen Castillo Farfán 01/05/2012 - Ventura County Reporter

“I don’t want to sit in the middle,” said Juan Carlos Zepeda Jr., 8, the youngest of three boys, to his mother. He stared at the pile of clothes and linens sitting in the back seat of their family car. “There’s no room.”

“Just sit down,” said his brothers, Adrian Diaz, 11, and Chris Diaz, 9. To make room, his mother, Alicia Cerda, removed the pile of belongings from the back to securely seat her sons, then refilled the backseat until the boys were chin-deep in clothing. “This is what we have to do to get around,” explained Cerda. “It’s all we have left. Our trunk is also full.”

Cerda is a single mother of three boys, and homeless. Her situation began three years ago when she lost her laundromat managing position after breaking her toe. A confluence of low income and child-care expenses caused her to turn away other employment opportunities. “I don’t have anyone to help with the kids,” she said. “How can I work and care for them?”

The decrepit vehicle with permanently locked doors, clear tape for a broken window and a dying engine is the last possession she owns. The car is their storage, their family room and an undependable mode of transportation. She said that high rent and coming up with a deposit and credit check make renting impossible. She’s lived in and out of friends’ houses and hotel rooms for three years, moving her sons back and forth. The only consistency she’s able to offer, besides the family vehicle, is keeping them in the same school they’ve attended since kindergarten. “I don’t want to take from them the last thing that’s theirs,” said Cerda between tears.

Living out of a car had been the norm until just recently, when she temporarily relocated into the Lighthouse for Women and Children, a Rescue Mission Alliance sub-program. The nonprofit Christian shelter is a “hand up” approach to providing clients with their immediate needs, like meals, showers and beds, so they can focus on their greatest needs. It also has a recovery program that offers vocational training, counseling and addiction assistance.

“We work with the women and show them life outside of what they know,” said Mellanie Temple, the Lighthouse children resource coordinator, who says the program includes free tutoring from School on Wheels Inc., a nonprofit tutoring organization that offers homework help to homeless families. “Women don’t have to worry while here,” she said. The goal of the program is to help families find healing and independence; no family is ever turned away.

Temple says the homeless epidemic is everyone’s concern. “With this economy, we are all a paycheck away from being homeless. It’s our problem,” she continued. “You wouldn’t want someone to say, ‘It’s not my problem,’ when you find yourself homeless tomorrow.” The program functions through donations and volunteers and doesn’t receive government funds.

This week, Cerda will begin her first steady job as a telemarketer, earning her $10 an hour. She is already planning to rent a place with a friend she met at Lighthouse and is hoping it will bring the fresh start she seeks. But child care remains a concern. Her babysitting arrangements were unexpectedly canceled, and she faces having to find last-minute babysitting or not making it to work at all. Furthermore, her time at Lighthouse will expire on Jan. 21.

“All I want is a home with a kitchen to cook a meal,” Cerda says, as she closes the car door and prepares to leave. Her engine starts making an egregious exhaust sound. Her crammed boys sit incognizant in the back, playing with the new Christmas gifts they got from the Rescue Mission’s Toy Give-Away; they’re on their way back to the Lighthouse where, for now, they’ll find a warm meal and beds and a hope for a better future.

Boxing Day party in Ventura will double as food drive

Posted December 25, 2011 - Ventura County Star

Its origins might have been lost in the annals of time, but this much is known about Boxing Day, which is celebrated the day after Christmas in Great Britain, Australia and other countries where the Queen's English is spoken:

It has nothing to do with returning unwanted gifts to stores, and even less to do with the Sweet Science.

Boxing Day instead is rooted in the idea of sharing one's good fortune with those who are less fortunate, said organizers of a public Boxing Day party from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in Ventura. The event will include a food drive for the Ventura County Rescue Mission. Read entire story...

Oxnard seniors have charity in store

Posted December 23, 2011 - Ventura County Star

The residents of Glenwood Care Center in Oxnard often get visitors during the Christmas season who bring gifts and sing songs.

While the residents appreciate the good will of others, they wanted to return the favor and do something to help others in the community.

So each day, the staff of the nursing home and rehabilitation facility helps a small group, who all require wheelchairs or walkers, set up the Little Bit Shop. They sell candy, chips, stuffed animals, balloons and sometimes jewelry. The money raised goes to the Lighthouse for Women and Children, a program of the Ventura County Rescue Mission. Read entire story...

Changing face of homeless reflects weak economy, Oxnard shelter chief says

Posted December 25, 2011 - Ventura County Star

John Saltee has seen many people come and go in his more than eight years with the Ventura County Rescue Mission.

Not only hungry people visit the Oxnard mission. Those simply in need of shelter also come, as do those who just need someone to listen to them as they seek refuge from a world that cannot provide them with stability, Saltee said.

In the past, many who showed up at the mission had been homeless off and on for an extended time. Many were single men in their late 40s, 50s and early 60s who had fallen on hard times.

Saltee said he now is seeing a lot more people who are homeless for the first time in their lives.

"I don't think there's any question that the weak economy has had a big impact" on the changing face of homelessness and those in need, he said as he reflected on a recently completed survey of those who seek help at the mission.

"We're seeing a lot more women and children," he said, "as well as young men, guys in their early 20s or younger." Read entire story...

Season of giving begins in earnest

Posted November 30, 2011 at 1:44 p.m.

The giving season kicked off the day before Thanksgiving when 15 volunteers from Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) helped serve 800 free turkey lunches at the Ventura County Rescue Mission in Oxnard.

“Not only are they serving our country,” said the rescue mission director, John Saltee, “they’re also serving our poor.”

Among the volunteers were Capt. Jim McHugh, commanding officer of the base, and Capt. David Sasek, the chief staff officer. They were joined by a contingent of culinary specialists, several volunteers from Air Operations and Religious Ministries and individuals who simply wanted to help.

or download a PDF Version of this article.

Feast Bittersweet

Story Created: Nov 23, 2011 PST
Story Updated: Nov 28, 2011 at 9:11 AM PST

November 2011- Oxnard - Organizers of the annual Thanksgiving meal at the Ventura County Rescue Mission are mourning a murder victim who should have been at their feast Wednesday. Many people at today's meal said a prayer for the 32-year-old Sarah Overholser.

A photo of the homeless mother from Oxnard is up on the wall near the dining hall. She battled depression before she was found strangled off the coast.

The Rescue Mission serves about 800 meals day in Oxnard and on this day hundreds of volunteers waited the tables. The Mission is known for it's large kitchen.

This year their chefs cooked 3,000 pounds of turkey and delivered meals to other non-profits in need of food. Watch the video interview

Hundreds Enjoy Early Thanksgiving at Oxnard Rescue Mission

By Anne Kallas
Posted November 23, 2011 at 5:26 p.m., updated November 23, 2011 at 6:18 p.m

November 2011 - More than 800 people were served meals at Wednesday's Thanksgiving feast, according to chef Mike Lodi, who was volunteering in the kitchen. He added that more than 290 turkeys were prepared — a total of more than 4,000 pounds of meat.

"We wanted to help people in need to be able to smile," Saltee said. "We're giving back to people who are having a hard time. We are thankful for such beautiful day to feed those who would not necessarily have a Thanksgiving."

Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/nov/23/hundreds-enjoy-early-thanksgiving-at-oxnard/
- vcstar.com

See the Ventura County Star Photo Album of this Thanksgiving event:
http://www.vcstar.com/photos/galleries/2011/nov/23/hundreds-enjoy-early-thanksgiving-oxnard-rescue/?preventMobileRedirect=1

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